Oh, heavens no, the Sheriff of San Francisco did not actually say, "This is all Obama's fault." The Sheriff conducted a press briefing yesterday to push back against federal fingers pointing at the Sheriff's Office for the release of accused murdered Francisco Sanchez. Many of the fingers pointing at the Sheriff seem not to take into account the fact that the Obama administration turned Sanchez over to San Francisco because it discovered an old, really old, stale, marijuana warrant from 1995. So, in defending his part in the indefensible circumstances that led to Sanchez shooting Kathryn Steinle, the Sheriff rightly pointed to Obama's Department of Homeland Security.
Sheriff Mirkarimi said, ICE "did not provide the Sheriff's Department with a warrant or a judicial order to hold him for proceedings." The Sheriff, of course, professed every intention to obey lawful orders while respecting the constitutional rights of the illegal immigrant felon, Francisco Sanchez. He explained, "Had ICE sought the requested legal order or warrant, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department naturally and will always comply and would have complied if that legal order or warrant would have been presented to us."
But is there any difference in him saying, as he did, that ICE failed to provide the appropriate documents to insure that Sanchez was returned to ICE custody, and Sheriff Mirkarimi saying, "the Obama administration failed to provide the appropriate documents to insure that Sanchez was returned to ICE custody"?
The truth is, from the beginning to the end, this ugly affair has the hallmarks of an Obama administration program.
First, it involves mishandled weapons. Think Operation Fast and Furious, a DOJ/BATFE Operation designed to track the flow of weapons to Mexican cartels, one result of which was that weapons sold in the US to straw purchasers ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and weapons ended up being used to kill American law enforcement agents and Mexican civilians, including children.Mr. Sanchez having apparently claimed that he found a gun in the trash, a belonging to a federal agent. It had previously been reported stolen from his vehicle.
Second, there is the matter of how Mr. Sanchez came to be turned over the the City and County of San(ctuary) Francisco. As the Sheriff confirmed in his press conference, the City and County DID NOT PURSUE Mr. Sanchez in the hands of the federal government. Instead, as Sanchez's sentence for illegal entry was coming to an end, and his forced repatriation to Mexico was impending, ICE officials discovered a STALE warrant, dated back to 1995, for possession and sale of MARIJUANA. ICE contacted San Francisco, and then caused Sanchez to be turned over to the Sheriff for further processing.
Once Sanchez was in their custody, Sanctuary City San Francisco proceeded with startling speed. He was delivered to the Sheriff on March 25, 2015. On March 26, 2015, Sanchez appeared in court where all charges were dropped. Two weeks later, ICE having not provided the kind of documents to Sanctuary City San Francisco that ICE knew it would require (a court order, or an appropriate warrant), San Francisco released Sanchez.
Pretend away all you want. The Department of Homeland Security failed utterly here. DHS's ICE agency knew that Sanctuary Cities, like San Francisco, objected to ICE's practice of issuing detainer notices for suspects in custody. Right or wrong, Sanctuary Cities have determined that they will require ICE to comply with what the Sanctuary Cities consider to be appropriate, constitutional, due process of law. By its knowledge of their practices, the actions of ICE turning illegals over to Sanctuary Cities' officials "as a courtesy" so that outstanding state and local warrants can be satisfied, make ICE culpable for the evident disregard for public safety embodied in Sanctuary Cities' practices.
ICE should discontinue extending courtesies to defiant communities.
Congress should discontinue funding of related programs in Sanctuary Cities until those cities agree to comply with ICE detainers.
And we all should discomfit the administration for its disregard of public safety, DHS and IHS for its coddling of illegals with multiple felony convictions, and Sanctuary Cities for their refusal to secure their communities from these obvious dangers.
